The present invention relates to a board-to-board connector and, more particularly, to board to board connector with improved connector locking and grounding members.
Board-to-board connectors are often used for electrically connecting a pair of circuit boards arranged to be parallel to each other. Such board-to-board connector pairs are provided with one half or each pair attached to each of the mutually opposing surfaces of the pair of circuit boards. Moreover, there has been proposed a structure in which a reinforcing metal bracket attached to each of the opposite ends of each connector part is arranged as a locking member to secure each connector half to the counterpart half (for example Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) 2003-234150).
Referring to FIG. 14, a first connector 801 is attached to a first circuit board (not shown) and a second connector 901 is attached to a second parallel circuit board (not shown). The first connector 801 includes a plurality of first terminals (not shown) loaded in a first housing 811 made of an insulating material. The second connector 901 includes a plurality of second terminals 961 accommodated in a second housing 911 also made of an insulating material. Thus, as the first connector 801 is mated to the second connector 901 to connect the first terminals to the second terminals 961 and create the illustrated assembly, the first circuit board and the second circuit board are in turn connected to each other.
Reinforcing metallic brackets 851 are attached to the right and left sides at both ends of the first housing 811 in its longitudinal direction (a direction perpendicular to the sheet of the drawing). The reinforcing metallic brackets 851 include a tail portion 852 to be soldered to the first circuit board, a retention part 853 positioned in a slit 815 formed in the first housing 811, and an elastically deformable locking part 854 having a projection 855 formed in a tip end thereof. When the first connector 801 and the second connector 901 are mated together, the projection 855 of the locking part 854 engages a lock receiving part 915 formed on a side surface of the second housing 911. This locks the first connector 801 and the second connector 901 to each other.